ecology

ecology

study of how organisms interact w/ their environment

biosphere

area on and around earth where life exists (includes anywhere life exists)

ex of biosphere

deserts, grasslands, taigas, and oceans

ecosystem

includes all of the organisms and the nonliving environment found in a particular place (includes living and nonliving things)

ex of ecosystem

entire mountain range or coral reef

community

all the organisms that inhabit a particular area (only includes organisms)

population

group of individuals that belong to the same species and live in the same area (only 1 species)

organisms

single living thing

biotic factors

include living organisms in the environment

ex of biotic factors

plants, animals, bacteria, fungi

abiotic factors

include all nonliving things in the environment

ex of abiotic factors

temperature, water, sunlight, wind, humidity, pH, oxygen concentration

behavior is a result of what?

genetic and environmental factors

innate behavior

behaviors that all individuals have due to genetics

ex of innate begavior

fixed action pattern: stickle-back fish only attack red things

fixed action pattern

sequence of behaviors that's unchangeable and usually carried to completion once initiated

learned behavior

change in behavior resulting from a past experience

imprinting

type of learning that's limited to a specific period in an organisms life

critical period

time period where imprinting takes pkace

ex of imprinting

goose learning to follow its mother at a young age

kinesis

simple change in activity rate in response to a stimulus

ex of kinesis

sos bugs become more active in dry areas and less active in humid areas

taxis

automatic movement toward or away from a stimulus

ex of taxis

caterpillars move away from light

migration

when organisms move to a different habitat that has better conditions for a short period of time

signals

behaviors by 1 organism that cause changes in the behavior of another organism (form of animal communication)

pheromones

chemical signals that are emitted by animals

leadning

changes in behavior resulting from a past experience

habituation

involves a loss of responsiveness to a stimulus that converts little or no info

ex of habituation

crying wolf

spatial learnjng

based on experience of the habitat and environment

ex of spatial learning

wasp uses landmarks to find nest

associative learing

ability to learn to associate 1 feature of the environment with anoher

classical conditioning

learning to associate a certain stimulus w/ reward or punishment

ex of classical conditioning

dog salivates when a. well rings b/c the dog knows that it's going to get food

operant conditioning

learning to associate ones own behavior w/ a reward or punishment

ex of operant conditioning

a mouse remembers that a certain type of caterpillar is distasteful

cognition

ability of an animals nervous system to perceive, store, process, & use info from sensory receptors

foraging behavior

behaviors associated w/ recognizing, searching for, capturing, and consuming food

mating behavior

behaviors associated w/ seeking or attracting of mates, selecting a mate, & competing for a mate

agnostic behavior

involving a contest of some kind, which determines which competitor will gain access to some resource, such as food or mayes

altruism (kin selection)

reduces an individuals fitness while increasing the fitness of another individual

ex of altruism

squirrel gives a high pitch noise to alert others that a fox is nearby but draws attention to itself

cooperation

when a group carries out behaviors in a more efficient way than is possible for a single individual

dominance hierarchy

behavior w/in a group that are controlled by the social status ("pecking order") of organisms w/in that group

social learning

learning through observing others

population density

measures how crowded a population is

population dispersion

pattern of spacing among individuals within boundaries of the population

clumped

pattern of spacing in which individuals aggregate in predictable patterns

what influences clumped

available resources

uniform

pattern of spacing in which individuals are evenly spaced

what influences uniform

social interactions such as territoriality

random

pattern of spacing in which individuals are dispersed independently of one another in an unpredictable pattern

growth rate

birth rate - death rate

zero population growth

occurs when the growth rate equals he death rate

exponential model

model of growth under ideal conditions in which the population increases very rapidly forever; rate of reproduction is at maximum, not realistic bc resources become listed as population grows

logistic model

model in which the population increases very rapidly but then levels off, death rate increases when resources become limited

when the environment can't support any more individuals the population is said to be

at its carrying capacity

r-selected populations

populations that are NOT near their carrying capacity, which allow for high reproductive rates

k-selected populations

population thats likely to be living at a density near the limit imposed by their resources

density independent factors

something that affects the population size regardless of the population density

density dependent factors

something that affects the population size due to the population density

ex of density independent factors

floods, fires, volcanos, etc

ex of density dependent factors

food shortages, nesting site shortages

competition

interaction that's detrimental to both species in which organism fight for a resource in short supply

competitive exclusion

when 2 diff species are in competition for the same resource only 1 will eventually gain an advantage and eliminate the other species

predation

interaction b/w 2 species in which one species eat the other species

cryptic coloration

when an animal is camouflaged by its coloring

aposematic coloration

when a poisonous animal is brightly colored as a warning to other animals

batesian mimicry

when an animal that is nonpoisonous has evolved to mimic the coloration of a poisonous animal

mullerian mimicry

when 2 bad tasting species resemble each other, so that predators will learn to avoid both of them equally

herbivory

interaction in which a herbivore eats part of a plant or algae

parasitism

interaction in which one organism (parasite) feeds on another individual (host)

mutualism

symbiotic relationship in which both participants benefit

ex of mutualism

bee pollinates a flower and the flower provides nectar for the bee

commensalism

relationship in which 1 organism benefits and the other is neither helped nor harmed

succession

gradual growth of a species in an area after some disturbance

primary succession

growth of organisms in a region that eaad lifeless before, slow

secondary succession

growth of organisms in a region that ad previously supported life (before some disturbance)

trophic levels

dividing of species in a community based on their main source of nutrition

food chain

single pathway that traces the transfer of food from organism to organism (beginning w/ the producers); grass-mouse-snake-hawk

food web

more complex diagram consisting of 2 or more food chains linked together

primary producers

organism that make their own food and ultimately support all other members of the ecosystem

primary consumers

herbivores which each plants or algae

secondary consumers

carnivores that eat herbivore

tertiary consumers

carnivores that eat there carnivores

detritivores

eat recently dead plants and animals

decomposers

break down dead tissues and wastes into simpler molecules

plants take in CO2 and water to form

sugar and water

plants can't use nitrogen in the form of N2 so nitrogen fixation occurs when banter in the soil converts N2 into

ammonium and nitrate

plants take up nitrates and ammonium to make

proteins and nucleic acids

phosphorus cycle is the most unique because

it has no gas phase

ozone layer

layer of ozone that reaches the amount of UV radiation that reaches the Earth's surface

greenhouse gases

gases such as water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, & nitrous oxide, which prevent heat from escaping Earth's surface